Process of forming shingles



ill n WW 1 Dec. 10, 1935. I gugz ows g 2,023,990

PROCESS OF FORMING SHINGLES O rigin'al Filed Jan. 21, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Ill" I WW g; 2. v if 'HIHIIMWH A'II'TORNEYS Dec. 3%, 1935. J,- aucz ows 2,023,990

PROCESS OF FORMING SHINGLES Original Filed Jan. 21, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ORNEYS Fatentecl Dec. 10, 1935 LlhllTEiD STAT ES PATENT OFFICE PROCESS OF FQRMIING SHINGLES Application .ianuary 21, 1932, Serial No. 587,876

Renewed August 15, 1934 9 Claims.

This invention relates to the formation of tapered articles, particularly shingles, from asbestos cement composition.

The object of the invention is to provide a composition article that will be inexpensive to manufacture and attractive in appearance and strong and durable in use.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating the invention Fig. 1 is a plan view of a shingle formed in accordance with this invention,

Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the same on line 22 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a plan view of a modified form of shingle,

Fig. 4 is a sectional View thereof on line 44 of Fig. 3,

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic plan View of apparatus for forming shingles in accordance with this invention,

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic elevational view of said apparatus,

Fig. 7 is a view illustrating a roofing formed of shingles shown in Fig. 1,

Fig. 8 is a perspective view illustrating one form of air release roll used in the apparatus shown in Figs. 5 and 6.

Figs. 9 and 10 are perspective views of modified forms of shingles, and

Fig. 11 is a diagrammatic side View of a; modification of the coloring means.

In the specific embodiments of the invention shown in the drawings, the shingle it of Fig. 1 is of asbestos cement material and of generally square form tapered so that the lower rectangular portion A is thicker than the upper rectangular portion B. Similarly in Fig. 3 the shingle H of generally oblong form has its portion A thicker than the remainder B. The upper surface of these shingles may be either plane as indicated in Figs. 3 and 4 or otherwise shaped with any desired contour giving the generally tapered form with thick portion A and thinner portion B.

In such a shingle the thinner portion tends to be the weaker, and the thicker portion has ample strength, and in order to more nearly equalize the strength of the shingle throughout the shingle of this invention may be varied in composition to have stronger material at its thinner portion B than at its thicker portion A. For instance, the proportion of cement in the thinner portion B may be greater than that in the thicker portion A.

In the particular shingle forming apparatus shown in the drawings, an endless belt is provided on a table (not shown) and carrying the shingle composition on its upper surface. Beginning at the right end (Fig. 6) the belt 20 moving from right to left, as indicated by the arrows, is first wetted on its upper surface with a film of water from the apron of supply tank 2| so that water may readily reach the bottom of the shingle material as it is deposited and formed on the belt.

The main mixer of asbestos cement material is designated 25 and has dryasbestos fibres and 10 cement and filler material supplied to it, and after thorough stirring this material is delivered to a bucket elevator in tower 26 which elevator carries the mixture up and discharges it downward through the slanting chute 21 arranged and 15 directed so as to guide the bulk of the material to be delivered to the left or large size of the taper, the remainder of the material in section 280i the chute spreading out from the main flow. This side section 28 may also have a variable auxiliary 2 supply of cement or cement asbestos material from the hopper 3t adding to the flow through the spread section 28 cement or a mixture of cement and asbestos without any filler so that the proportionate amount of the live cement or 25 asbestos fibres in the thinner portion of the shing1e will be increased and the filler correspondingly reduced.

Both the main and side flows from chutes 21, 28 respectively, are deposited side by side in a continuous mass on the belt 20 just in front of the leveling roller 32 which rotates counter-clockwise (Fig. 6) and is formed by end castings 33 and cross tubes 34 set at a taper with relation to the axis of rotation to produce a tapered deposit on the belt 20. This leveling roller 32 permits only a predetermined height of material to proceed with the belt to the picker roll 35, and the rotation of the leveling roller 32 retains a constant excess of material directly in back of it.

The picker roll 35 comprises a large number of wirelike nails 36 driven into the tapered periphery of drum 31, and this roll running counterclockwise (Fig. 6) at relatively high speed R. P. M.) produces the finished taper on the ma- 45 terial delivered from the leveling roller 32. The picker roll is accurately adjusted so that the desired thickness and taper of shingle is formed. All excess material is scraped off by the side guides 49] at the picker roll and passed down to 50 the screw conveyor 4|, which returns it to the mixer 25 to be recirculated through tower 26 to the supply on the belt.

The material leaving the picker roll is fluffy and light, and while it is wetted at its lowermost 55 .mine the final dimensions of the shingle.

particles on the belt it contains a great deal of entrained air in tenacious films around the particles and fibers. I have found it advantageous to compact this material and force out or release some of the air before pressing the mass to form the shingle surfaces. To thus remove the intermingled air the material on the belt is passed under the air release roll 45, which reduces the thickness of the deposited material by permitting the escape of the entrained air through the mesh periphery of the roll. This roll comprises the end members 46 and cross strips 4'! and peripheral wires 48, and the Weight of the rolls presses the wire suificiently into the material to have the desired effect. (See Fig. 8.)

The belt then carries the material under the first pressure roller 56 which further reduces the thickness and applies pressure sufiicient to give a definite smooth surface to the composition. The roll guides 5| also determine the width of the shingle strip and guide any excess material at the edges in under the roll. The roll 50 is of large size and has its pressure increased to any desired point by adjustable springs or levers, or by adjustable weights pressing down on the shaft of the roll.

All of these parts are adjusted to the desired taper of the material, the rolls 32 and 35 being tapered and rolls and 56 being tipped to rotate on axes properly inclined to follow the taper of the material. The lower roll 52 opposite the upper roll holds the belt 20 against the pressure of the upper roll, the periphery of this roll 52 fitting up through an opening in the supporting table 53 along which the belt 20 runs. Preferably this roll 52- is of cylindrical shape retaining the belt in substantially horizontal position as it passes under the roll.

Water is next added to the material by means of a waterbox 55 having the apron 56 flowing a sheet of water on to the material as it passes under the apron.

The wetted sheet being of a determined width is next cut into predetermined lengths to deter- A rotary cutter 51 has its blades 58 spaced peripherally the desired distance apart so that as the end disks of the cutter are rotated by contact with the belt 20 the blades will be carried down to cut through the material on the belt, a cooperating roll 59 being provided to hold the belt against the cutter edge. Preferably each of the blades 58 will be provided with a sliding stripper 66 yieldingly held outward and adapted to slide backward on contact with material and to slide forward to hold the material in position on the belt as the cutter leaves the material.

After cutting the wetted material on the belt is colored from the color box 65, for instance, by a powdering of colored material distributed in desired manner over the upper surface of the shingle or such portions thereof as areto be colored.

For instance as shown in Fig. 11 the color discharge outlet 64 of color box 65 may have the slide 63 movable so as to Vary the color deposit as the shingle passes beneath the outlet. For this purpose the shaft 9i of the cutter 51 carries the cam wheels 92 on each side engaging rollers 93 of levers 94 fulcrumed at 95 and pivoted at 96 to the rods 91 connected at 98 tothe slide 63. Normally the spring I90 will hold the parts toward the right and with the color discharge opening 64 free, but at timed intervals the cams 92 engage the rollers 93 to turn the lever 94 clockwise and move the slide 63 toward closed position.

For instance, the edges of the shingle on each side of the cut may be lighter in color, or not colored at all, by timing the closing of the slide 5 63 to shut off the outlet 64 as these edges pass the outlet. By changing the shape of the cams 92 and their angular adjustment with relation to the shaft 9|, any desired distribution of the color over the shingle from out edge to cut edge 1 may be obtained.

The side edges of the shingle may have the coloring control by adjustment of the length of the discharge slot of outlet 64. For instance by blocking off this slot to shorten it, the side edges 1 of the shingle may be weakly colored, or not colored at all.

Final pressure at the machine is applied to the shingles by means of the roll 66 and its cooperating roll 61. The upper pressure roll 66 is of gen- 2 erally cylindrical shape and with its axis inclined so as to incline the surface of the roll to correspond with the taper of the shingle. This pressure roll 66 further reduces the thickness and compacts the material, and in particular forms 2 a close adhering bond between the colored matter and the wet material on the belt.

The individual shingles are then removed one by one on a steel strip plate slid over the surface of the belt and under the shingles at a point 3 directly in front of the final pulley or roll 68. The pulleys or rolls 68, 69, 10, "H, and 12 permit the operation of the belt in continuous form, the belt being driven by means of power applied to the large roll 52. g

When a shingle of generally square outline is to be produced, the cutter 51 is used having its blades 58 so spaced as to give a distance between cross cuts substantially equal to the distance from side to side of the shingle material on the 4 belt. When a shingle of rectangular form as shown in Fig. 3 is to be formed a cutter 5'! is used for its cutting blade edges more closely spaced. In other respects the operation of the machine in forming the shingle of Fig. l or Fig. 3 is substan- 4 tially the same.

The contours of the surfaces of the various rolls 35, 45, 50, and 66 may be altered to give any desired convexity or concavity to the surface of the shingle. For simplicity in description surfaces 5 having straight line elements have been assumed, but it is obvious that if these rolls, and particularly rolls 5!] and 66, are made convex, the surface of the shingle will be correspondingly concave, for instance as shown in Figs. 2 and 4. 5

After removal from the machine and before initial set of the cement, the Shingles are pressed between surfaces conforming to their final shape. Then they are cured by being kept moist during the remainder of the setting and are then ready 6 for use.

In laying a roof with shingle it of Fig. 1 the shingles are placed with their diagonal axes vertical and with the thick portion A downward either to the right or left. In either position the 6 lower point C of the shingle is thicker than the upper point D thereof, and the lower portions C overlap the upper portions D (Fig. 7). Preferably the tapered edges of the portions D will face each other on the roof and similarly the 7 thickened untapered edges 16 Will also be facing, and to effect this in each course the shingles will alternate in position so that a shingle with its thick edge 76 to the right will have on each side of it a shingle with its thick edge 16 to the left. 7

In such positions the shingles will fit and overlap in proper relation to give weather-tight joints, and in such a roofing the taper or thickening of the shingle renders the exposed edges of the shingles thick and prominent, giving an appearance of depth to the roofing. With the shingle iii of Figs. 1, 2, and '7 the taper of the shingle runs diagonally 45 to the vertical and either right or left, and this gives a variable effect as shown in Fig. 7.

In laying the shingles of Fig. 3 these are simply arranged in usual manner in overlapping rows with the thickened portions A overlying the thinner portions B of the shingles underneath.

The shingle of this invention is simple and inexpensive in formation and strong and durable in use. The surface markings may be deep and permanent and give an appearance to the exposed portion of the shingle that is similar to thatch or weathered wooden shingling. As previously explained the thinner portion of the shingle may be made of stronger composition than the thick exposed end so as to give a substantially even strength throughout the length of the shingle, the extra filler material being progressively increased toward the thicker end and evenly distributed throughout the body of the thicker filler from face to face.

If preferred the surplus filler material, such as sand or used cement, may be concentrated mainly on one surface or the other of the thick exposed end, and, if on the other face, may be used to give a coarse granular efiect there. To effect this concentration of the surplus filler over one of the faces of the shingle it is only necessary to position the supply of surplus filler material preferably in advance of the picker roll 35 with means to deposit this filler material on the belt ahead of the deposit of the dry asbestos-cementfiller composition, or the deposit may be made on the top of the previously deposited asbestoscement-filler.

The resulting shingle will then have a substantially homogeneous composition throughout one portion, and its other portion will have a different composition with a higher percentage of filling material. For instance, as shown in Figs. 9 and 10,-the tapered shingle Si or the untapered shingle 9% may be formed with a layer X (vertically lined) of asbestos cement material having a relatively low filler content and with another layer Y or Y (diagonally lined) of asbestos cement material having a relatively high filler content, the two layers merging very gradually together so as not to have any sharp line of demarcation between them. In the shingle 95 of Fig. 9, it is obvious that the shingle may be reversed in position to have the layer Y either lowermost as shown, or uppermost in reversed position. It is preferable as shown to have the layer X of low filler content of substantially constant thickness and to taper the layer Y of high filler content. so as not to weaken the thinner portion of the shingle. In the fiat shingle (Fig. 10) the layer X of low filler content and the layer Y of high filler content may be of equal or any de sired relative proportionate thickness, and are preferably of even thickness throughout.

While the filler material used to vary the proportion of the cement has been described as sand or used cement, it is obvious that other filler materials may be used, such as reclaimed asbestos fibre, marble dust, ground glass, wood flour, and the like, or that the asbestos or other fibrous ingredient may form the filler, and that variations in the composition and the relative proportion of the cement may be determined by the relative proportion of the fibrous or other material used in admixture with the cement.

For instance where the composition is homogeneous throughout the shingle, it may have 58% Portland cement, 17% asbestos fibre and 25% inert filler, which preferably is finely ground and inert, and should not deteriorate or absorb moisture. In order to vary the composition to strengthen the shingle a mixture consisting of 75% cement and 25% asbestos fibre may be used in the thinner portion of the shingle. Then the percentage of filler in the thicker portion of the shingle may be increased, for instance, to the extent of 40% filler, 15% asbestos fibre and 45% cement.

This case is a continuation in part of my prior application Serial No; 504,243 for Shingle and process and apparatus for forming same, filed December 23, 1930.

I claim:

1. The process of forming articles comprising depositing a layer of asbestos cement material upon a traveling carrier, leveling said material down to desired thickness and surface contour, pressing said material with a recessed member adapted to contact at a plurality of separated areas and release air from the pressed material, and further pressing and wetting said material to form the final article.

2. The process of forming articles comprising depositing a layer of asbestos cement material upon a traveling carrier, leveling off the surface of said material in generally tapered form to be thicker on one side and thinner on the other, pressing said material in tapered form with a recessed member adapted to contact at a plurality of separated areas and release air from said material and then further pressing and wetting said material to form the final article.

3. The process of forming articles of asbestos cement material comprising depositing said material in dry form upon a traveling carrier, leveling said material in desired thickness and surface contour, releasing air from said material by pressing it at a plurality of separated areas, pressing and wetting said material to substantially its final dimensions, cutting said material into separate articles, and then finally pressing said material and delivering it in completed form of the desired articles.

4. The process of forming articles of asbestos cement material comprising depositing said ma- 1:

terial in dry form upon a traveling carrier, leveling said material in desired thickness and surface contour, releasing air from said material by pressing it at a plurality of separated areas,

pressing and wetting said material to substantially its final dimensions, cutting said material into separate articles, and then finally coloring and pressing said material and delivering it in completed form of the desired articles.

5. The process of forming articles of asbestos cement material comprising depositing said material in dry form upon a previously wetted traveling belt, leveling sai-d material in desired thickness and surface contour, releasing air from said material by pressing it at a plurality of separated areas, pressing and wetting said material to substantially its final dimensions, cutting said material into separate articles, and then finally pressing said material and delivering it in completed form of the desired articles.

CAI

6. The process of forming tapered articlesrof asbestos cement material comprising depositing said material upon a traveling belt and leveling said material to tapered form by a leveling roller at the point of deposit, further evening ofl. said material by a picker roller set to the desired thickness for the material, and then releasing air from said deposited material by pressing it with an air release roll adapted to exert pressure at separated areas, then further pressing and wetting and cutting said material to form the desired article.

7. The process of forming articles comprising supplying asbestos cement material in dry form, depositing said material in unequal thickness upon a transversely horizontal traveling carrier so that the level of the upper surface of the material is inclined from one side of the carrier to the other, then leveling off the upper surface of said material with taper in the same direction as the said deposited material to be thicker on one side than on the other, and then pressing and wetting said material while preserving the transverse inclination of the upper surface so as to form the final article tapered from one edge to the other.

8. The process of forming articles comprising supplying asbestos cement material in dry form,

depositing said material upon a transversely herizontal traveling carrier, then leveling off the upper surface of said material with taper in the same direction as the said deposited. material to be thicker on one side than on the other, then pressing said material to compact it while preserving the transverse inclination of the upper surface, then Wetting said material, .then again pressing said material while maintaining the transverse inclination of the upper surface so as to form the final article tapered from one edge to the other.

9. The process of forming articles comprising supplying asbestos cement material in dry form, depositing said material in unequal thickness upon a transversely horizontal traveling carrier and with the thinner portions of the deposit carrying a larger proportion of the cement, then leveling off the upper surface of said material with taper in the same direction as the said deposited material to be thicker on one side than the other, and then pressing and wetting said material while preserving the transverse inclination of the upper surface so as to form the final article tapered from one edge to the other.

ED'VVARD J. BUCZKOWSKI. 

